Shaping apparatus and shaping method

ABSTRACT

A shaping apparatus is equipped with: a beam shaping system having a beam irradiation section that includes a condensing optical system which emits a beam and a material processing section which supplies a shaping material irradiated by the beam from the beam irradiation section; and a controller which, on the basis of 3D data of a three-dimensional shaped object to be formed on a target surface, controls a workpiece movement system and the beam shaping system such that a target portion on the target surface is shaped by supplying the shaping material from the material processing section while moving the beam from the beam irradiation section and the target surface on a workpiece (or a table) relative to each other. Further the intensity distribution of the beam in the shaping plane facing the emitting surface of the condensing optical system can be modified.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/590,311filed May 9, 2017, which in turn is a continuation of InternationalApplication No. PCT/JP2014/080150, with an international filing date ofNov. 14, 2014. The disclosure of each of the above-identifiedapplications is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a shaping apparatus and a shapingmethod, and more particularly to a shaping apparatus and a shapingmethod to form a three-dimensional shaped object on a target surface.The shaping apparatus and the shaping method related to the presentinvention can be suitably applied when forming three-dimensional shapedobjects by rapid prototyping (may also be called 3D printing, additivemanufacturing, or direct digital manufacturing).

Description of the Background Art

Technology of forming a 3D (three-dimensional) shape directly from CADdata is called rapid prototyping (also may be called 3D printing,additive manufacturing, or direct digital manufacturing, but rapidprototyping will be used in general below), and has contributed mainlyto make prototypes aimed for confirming shapes in an extremely shortlead time. Shaping apparatus that form three-dimensional shaped objectsby rapid prototyping such as a 3D printer can be broadly classified,when classified by materials which are handled, into devices that handleresin and devices that handle metal. Metallic three-dimensional shapedobjects fabricated by rapid prototyping are used exclusively as actualparts, unlike the case of objects made by resin. That is, the parts areused such that they function as a part of an actual machine structure(whether the actual machine be mass produced or prototypes), and not asprototype parts for confirming shapes. As existing metallic 3D printers(hereinafter shortly referred to as M3DP (Metal 3D printer)), two types,PBF (Powder Bed Fusion) and DED (Directed Energy Deposition) are wellknown.

In PBF printers, a thin layer of powdered sintered metal is formed on abed where an object to be worked is mounted, a high power laser beam isscanned thereon using a galvano mirror or the like, and the part wherethe beam hits is melted and solidified. When drawing of one layer iscompleted, the bed is lowered by one layer thickness, spreading ofpowdered sintered metal is resumed thereon, and the same process isrepeated. Shaping is repeated layer by layer in the manner describedabove so that the desired three-dimensional shape can be acquired.

PBF substantially has some problems due to its shaping principle, suchas; (1) insufficient fabrication accuracy of parts, (2) high roughnessin surface finish, (3) slow processing speed, and (4) troublesomesintered metal powder handling that takes time and effort.

In DED printers, a method of depositing melted metal material on aprocessing subject is employed. For example, powdered metal is jettedaround the focus of a laser beam condensed by a condensing lens. Thepowdered metal melts into a liquid form by irradiation of a laser. Whenthe processing subject is located around the focus, the liquefied metalis deposited on the processing subject, cooled, and then is solidifiedagain. This focal part is, in a way, the tip of a pen that allowssuccessive drawing of “lines with thickness” on the processing subjectsurface. A desired shape can be formed by one of the processing subjectand a processing head (as in a laser and a powder jet nozzle) movingrelatively in an appropriate manner on the basis of CAD data, withrespect to the other (for example, refer to U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2003/0206820).

As it can be seen from this, with DED, because powder material is jettedfrom the processing head by a necessary amount only when necessary, thissaves waste and processing does not have to be performed in a largeamount of surplus powder.

As described above, although DED has been improved compared to PBF onpoints such as handling of powder metal as a raw material, there stillare many points to be improved.

Under such circumstances, it is strongly hoped that convenience as amachine tool of a shaping apparatus that forms a three-dimensionalshaped object is to be improved, that is to say, economic rationality ofmanufacturing is to be improved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provideda shaping apparatus that forms a three-dimensional shaped object on atarget surface, comprising: a movement system that moves the targetsurface; a beam shaping system that has a beam irradiation sectionincluding a condensing optical system which emits a beam and a materialprocessing section which supplies shaping material to be irradiated bythe beam from the beam irradiation section; and a controller thatcontrols the movement system and the beam shaping system based on 3Ddata of a three-dimensional shaped object to be formed on the targetsurface, so that shaping is applied to the target portion on the targetsurface by supplying the shaping material from the material processingsection while relative movement of the target surface and the beam fromthe beam irradiation section is performed, wherein intensitydistribution of the beam within a predetermined plane at an exit surfaceside of the condensing optical system can be changed.

Here, the target surface is a surface where the target portion ofshaping is set, and the predetermined plane may be a virtual surfacewhere the target surface is to be positioned for the shaping. Thepredetermined plane, for example, may be a surface perpendicular to anoptical axis of the condensing optical system. The predetermined planemay be a rear focal plane of the condensing optical system or itsneighboring surface.

According to this apparatus, it becomes possible to form athree-dimensional shaped object on the target surface with goodprocessing accuracy.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provideda shaping method of forming a three-dimensional shaped object on atarget surface, comprising: controlling movement of the target surfaceand at least one of an irradiating state of a beam from a beamirradiation section including a condensing optical system and a supplystate of a shaping material to be irradiated by the beam based on 3Ddata of the three-dimensional shaped object which is to be formed on thetarget surface, such that shaping is applied to a target portion on thetarget surface by supplying the shaping material while performingrelative movement between the beam emitted from the beam irradiationsection and the target surface, wherein intensity distribution of thebeam within a predetermined plane on an exit surface side of thecondensing optical system can be changed.

According to this method, it becomes possible to form athree-dimensional shaped object on the target surface with goodprocessing accuracy.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall structure of a shapingapparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a view schematically showing a structure of a movement systemalong with a measurement system;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the movement system on which aworkpiece is mounted;

FIG. 4 is a view showing a beam shaping system along with a table onwhich the workpiece is mounted;

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of a structure of a light sourcesystem structuring a part of a beam irradiation section that the beamshaping system has;

FIG. 6 is a view showing a state where a parallel beam from a lightsource is irradiated on a mirror array, and an incidence angle of areflection beam from each of a plurality of mirror elements to acondensing optical system is individually controlled;

FIG. 7 is a view showing a material processing section that the beamshaping system is equipped with along with the condensing opticalsystem;

FIG. 8 is a view showing a plurality of supply ports formed in a nozzleof the material processing section and an open/close member whichopens/closes each of the plurality of supply ports;

FIG. 9A is a view showing circle A in FIG. 4 enlarged, and FIG. 9B is aview showing a relation between a straight line area and scan directionshown in FIG. 9A;

FIG. 10 is a view showing an example of an irradiation area of a beamformed on a shaping surface;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an input/output relation of acontroller that mainly structures a control system of the shapingapparatus;

FIGS. 12A and 12B are views used for describing an effect of the shapingapparatus according to the embodiment in comparison with theconventional art;

FIG. 13 is a view used for describing an example of performing additivemanufacturing to a workpiece using three beams each formed in threestraight line areas;

FIG. 14 is a view showing a relation between placement of the threestraight line areas shown in FIG. 13 and a scan direction; and

FIGS. 15A and 15B are views used to describe an example when increasingthickness of a coating layer by widening a width of a straight linearea.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1to 15B. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an entire structure of ashaping apparatus 100 according to the embodiment.

Shaping apparatus 100 is a M3DP (Metal 3D printer) that employs DED(Directed Energy Deposition). Shaping apparatus 100 can be used to forma three-dimensional shaped object on a table 12 to be described later byrapid prototyping, as well as to perform additive manufacturing bythree-dimensional shaping on a workpiece (e.g. an existing component).The present embodiment will focus on describing the latter case whereadditive manufacturing is performed on the workpiece. At the actualmanufacturing site, it is common to make a desired component by furtherrepeating processing on a component formed using a differentmanufacturing method, a different material, or a different machine tool,and the requirement is potentially the same for additive manufacturingby three-dimensional shaping.

Shaping apparatus 100 is equipped with; a movement system 200, ameasurement system 400, and a beam shaping system 500, and a controller600 including these systems that has overall control of shapingapparatus 100. Of these parts, measurement system 400, and beam shapingsystem 500 are placed spaced apart in a predetermined direction. In thedescription below, for the sake of convenience, measurement system 400,and beam shaping system 500 are to be placed spaced apart in an X-axisdirection (refer to FIG. 2) to be described later on.

FIG. 2 schematically shows a structure of movement system 200, alongwith that of measurement system 400. Further, FIG. 3 shows movementsystem 200 on which a workpiece W is mounted in a perspective view. Inthe description below, the lateral direction of the page surface in FIG.2 will be described as a Y-axis direction, a direction orthogonal to thepage surface will be described as the X-axis direction, a directionorthogonal to the X-axis and the Y-axis will be described as a Z-axisdirection, and rotation (tilt) directions around the X-axis, the Y-axis,and the Z-axis will be described as θx, θy, and θz directions,respectively.

Movement system 200 changes position and attitude of a target surface(in this case, a surface on workpiece W on which a target portion TA isset) TAS (for example, refer to FIGS. 4 and 9A) for shaping.Specifically, by driving the workpiece having the target surface and thetable to be described later on where the workpiece is mounted indirections of six degrees of freedom (6-DOF) (in each of the X-axis, theY-axis, the Z-axis, the θx, the θy, and the θz directions), position indirections of 6-DOF of the target surface is changed. In thisdescription, as for the table, the workpiece, the target surface and thelike, position in directions of three degrees of freedom (3-DOF) in theθx, the θy, and the θz directions will be referred to collectively as“attitude”, and corresponding to this, the remaining directions of threedegrees of freedom (3-DOF) in the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axisdirections will be referred to collectively as “position”.

As an example of a drive mechanism for changing the position andattitude of the table, movement system 200 is equipped with a Stewartplatform type 6-DOF parallel link mechanism. Movement system 200 is notlimited to a system that can drive the table in directions of 6-DOF.

Movement system 200 (excluding a stator of a planar motor to bedescribed later on) is placed on a base BS installed on a floor F sothat its upper surface is almost parallel to an XY plane, as shown inFIG. 2. Movement system 200 has a slider 10 having a regular hexagonalshape in a planar view that structures a base platform, table 12 thatstructures an end effector, six expandable rods (links) 14 ₁ to 14 ₆ forconnecting slider 10 and table 12, and expansion mechanisms 16 ₁ to 16 ₆(not shown in FIG. 3, refer to FIG. 11) provided in each rod to makeeach rod expand and contract, as shown in FIG. 3. Movement system 200employs a structure so that the movement of table 12 can be controlledin 6-DOF within a three-dimensional space by separately adjusting thelength of rods 14 ₁ to 14 ₆ with expansion mechanisms 16 ₁ to 16 ₆.Movement system 200 is provided with features such as high accuracy,high rigidity, large supporting force, and easy inverse kinematiccalculation, since the system is equipped with a Stewart platform typeE-DOF parallel link mechanism as a drive mechanism of table 12.

In shaping apparatus shaping 100 according to the embodiment, positionand attitude of the workpiece (table 12) are controlled with respect tobeam shaping system 500, or more specifically, a beam from a beamirradiation section to be described later on so that a shaping object ofa desired shape is formed of the workpiece at times such as additivemanufacturing to the workpiece. In principle, contrary to this, the beamfrom the beam irradiation section may be movable or the beam and theworkpiece (table) may both be movable. As it will be described later on,because beam shaping system 500 has a complex structure, it is easier tomove the workpiece instead.

Table 12 here consists of a plate member having a shape of anequilateral triangle with each apex cut off. Workpiece W subject toadditive manufacturing is mounted on the upper surface of table 12. Achuck mechanism 13 (not shown in FIG. 3, refer to FIG. 11) for fixingworkpiece W is provided at table 12. As chuck mechanism 13, for example,a mechanical chuck or a vacuum chuck is used. Note that the shape oftable 12 is not limited to the shape shown in FIG. 3, and may be anyshape such as a rectangular plate shape or a disk shape.

In this case, as is obvious from FIG. 3, rods 14 ₁ to 14 ₆ are eachconnected to slider 10 and table 12 via universal joints 18 at both endsof the rods. Rods 14 ₁ and 14 ₂ are connected near one apex position ofthe triangle of table 12, and are placed so that slider 10 and theserods 14 ₁ and 14 ₂ structure a roughly triangular shape. Similarly, rods14 ₃ and 14 ₄ and rods 14 ₅ and 14 ₆ are connected, respectively, neareach of the remaining apex positions of the triangle of table 12, andare placed so that slider 10 and rods 14 ₃ and 14 ₄, and slider 10 androds 14 ₅ and 14 ₆ each structure a roughly triangular shape.

These rods 14 ₁ to 14 ₂ each have a first shaft member 20 and a secondshaft member 22 relatively movable in each axial direction as in rod 14₁ representatively shown in FIG. 3, and one end (lower end) of the firstshaft member 20 is attached to slider 10 via universal joint 18 and theother end (upper end) of the second shaft member 22 is attached to table12 via a universal joint.

Inside the first shaft member 20, a stepped columnar hollow portion isformed, and in the lower end side of the hollow portion, for example, abellows type air cylinder is housed. To this air cylinder, a pneumaticcircuit and an air pressure source (none of which are shown) areconnected. By controlling pneumatic pressure of compressed air suppliedfrom the air pressure source via the pneumatic circuit, internalpressure of the air cylinder is controlled, which makes a piston thatthe air cylinder has move reciprocally in the axial direction. The aircylinder, in the returning process, is made to use gravitational forcethat acts on the piston when incorporated in the parallel linkmechanism.

At the upper end side inside the hollow portion of the first shaftmember 20, an armature unit (not shown) is placed consisting of aplurality of armature coils placed lined in the axial direction.

Meanwhile, one end (lower end) of the second shaft member 22 is insertedinto the hollow portion of the first shaft member 20. At the one end ofthe second shaft member 22, a small diameter section having a diametersmaller than other sections is formed, and a tubular mover yokeconsisting of a magnetic member is provided around this small diametersection. At the outer periphery of the mover yoke, a hollow columnarmagnet body consisting of a plurality of permanent magnets of the samesize, that is, a cylindrical magnet body is provided. In this case, themover yoke and the magnet body structure a hollow columnar magnet unit.In the embodiment, the armature unit and the magnet unit structure ashaft motor which is a type of electromagnetic linear motor. In theshaft motor structured in the manner described above, by supplying asinusoidal drive current of a predetermined period and a predeterminedamplitude to each coil of the armature unit serving as a stator, Lorentzforce (drive force) is generated by an electromagnetic interaction whichis a type of electromagnetic reciprocal action between the magnet unitand the armature unit, which is used to relatively drive the secondshaft member 22 in the axial direction with respect to the first shaftmember 20.

That is to say, in the embodiment, the air cylinder described above andthe shaft motor structure expansion mechanisms 16 ₁ to 16 ₆ (refer toFIG. 11) previously described that make rods 14 ₁ to 14 ₆ expand andcontract by relatively moving the first shaft member 20 and the secondshaft member 22 in the axial direction.

The magnet unit serving as the mover of the shaft motor is supported ina non-contact manner with respect to the armature unit serving as thestator, via an air pad provided on the inner circumferential surface ofthe first shaft member 20.

Although illustration is omitted in FIG. 3, rods 14 ₁ to 14 ₆ each haveabsolute linear encoders 24 ₁ to 24 ₆ provided for detecting theposition of the second shaft member 22 in the axial direction with thefirst shaft member 20 as a reference, and the output of these linearencoders 24 ₁ to 24 ₆ is to be supplied to controller 600 (refer to FIG.11). The position of the second shaft member 22 in the axial directiondetected by linear encoders 24 ₁ to 24 ₆ correspond to the respectivelength of rods 14 ₁ to 14 ₆.

On the basis of the output of linear encoders 24 ₁ to 24 ₆, controller600 controls expansion mechanisms 16 ₁ to 16 ₆ (refer to FIG. 11).Details on the structure of the parallel link mechanism similar tomovement system 200 of the embodiment are disclosed in, for example,U.S. Pat. No. 6,940,582, and controller 600 controls the position andthe attitude of table 12 according to a method similar to the onedisclosed in the above U.S. patent using inverse kinematic calculationvia expansion mechanisms 16 ₁ to 16 ₆.

In movement system 200, because expansion mechanisms 16 ₁ to 16 ₆provided at each of rods 14 ₁ to 14 ₆ have the air cylinder and theshaft motor which is a kind of electromagnetic linear motor placed inseries (or parallel) to one another, controller 600 moves table 12roughly and greatly by pneumatic control of the air cylinder as well asin a fine manner by the shaft motor. As a consequence, this allows theposition in directions of 6-DOF (i.e., position and attitude) of table12 to be controlled within a short time accurately.

Rods 14 ₁ to 14 ₆ each have an air pad for supporting the magnet unitserving as the mover of the shaft motor in a noncontact manner withrespect to the armature unit serving as the stator, therefore, frictionwhich becomes a nonlinear component when controlling theexpansion/contraction of the rods with the expansion mechanisms can beavoided, which allows more highly precise control of position andattitude of table 12.

In the embodiment, because the shaft motor is used as theelectromagnetic linear motor structuring expansion mechanisms 16 ₁ to 16₆ and the magnet unit using the cylindrical magnet is used in the moverside of the shaft motor, this generates magnetic flux (magnetic field)in all directions of radiation direction of the magnet and the magneticflux in all directions can be made to contribute to generating theLorentz force (drive force) by electromagnetic interaction, which allowsthrust obviously larger when comparing to, for example, a normal linearmotor or the like to be generated and allows easier downsizing whencompared to a hydraulic cylinder or the like.

Consequently, according to movement system 200 with rods each includingthe shaft motor, downsizing, lighter weight and improving output can beachieved at the same time, and this can be suitably applied to shapingapparatus 100.

In controller 600, low frequency vibration can be controlled bycontrolling air pressure of the air cylinder that structure each of theexpansion mechanisms and high frequency vibration can be isolated bycurrent control to the shaft motor.

Movement system 200 is further equipped with a planar motor 26 (refer toFIG. 11). At the bottom surface of slider 10, a mover of planar motor 26consisting of a magnet unit (or a coil unit) is provided, andcorresponding to this, a stator of planar motor 26 consisting of a coilunit (or a magnet unit) is housed inside base BS. At the bottom surfaceof slider 10, a plurality of air bearings (air hydrostatic bearings) areprovided surrounding the mover, and by the plurality of air bearings,slider 10 is supported by levitation via a predetermined clearance (gapor space) on the upper surface (guide surface) of base BS finished tohave high degree of flatness. Slider 10, by the electromagnetic force(Lorentz force) generated by the electromagnetic interaction between thestator and mover of planar motor 26, is driven within the XY plane in anoncontact manner with respect to the upper surface of base BS. In theembodiment, movement system 200, as shown in FIG. 1, can freely movetable 12 between the placement positions of measurement system 400, beamshaping system 500, and a workpiece carrier system 300 (not shown inFIG. 1, refer to FIG. 11). Note that movement system 200 may be equippedwith a plurality of tables 12 on which workpiece W is mountedseparately. For example, while processing using beam shaping system 500is being performed on the workpiece held by one table of the pluralityof tables, measurement using measurement system 400 may be performed onthe workpiece held by another table. Even in such a case, each table canbe freely moved between the placement positions of measurement system400, beam shaping system 500, and workpiece carrier system 300 (notshown in FIG. 1, refer to FIG. 11). Or, in the case a structure isemployed where a table for holding the workpiece when performingmeasurement exclusively using measurement system 400 and a table forholding the workpiece when performing processing exclusively using beamshaping system 500 are provided and the workpiece may be loaded andunloaded on/from the two tables with a workpiece carrier system or thelike, each slider 10 may be fixed on base BS. In the case of providing aplurality of tables 12, each table 12 can be moved in directions of6-DOF, and the position in directions of 6-DOF of each table 12 can becontrolled.

Planar motor 26 is not limited to the motor that employs the airlevitation method, and a planar motor employing a magnetic levitationmethod may also be used. In the latter case, the air bearings do nothave to be provided in slider 10. As planar motor 26, both motors of amoving-magnet type and a moving-coil type can be used.

Controller 600 can, by controlling at least one of the amount and thedirection of electric current supplied to each coil of the coil unitstructuring planar motor 26, drive slider 10 freely in the X and Ytwo-dimensional directions on base BS.

In the embodiment, movement system 200 is equipped with a positionmeasurement system 28 (refer to FIG. 11) that measures positioninformation of slider 10 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axisdirection. As position measurement system 28, a two-dimensional absoluteencoder can be used.

Specifically, on the upper surface of base BS, a two-dimensional scaleis provided that has a strip shaped absolute code of a predeterminedwidth covering the whole length in the X-axis direction, andcorrespondingly on the bottom surface of slider 10, a light source suchas a light emitting element is provided as well as an X head and a Yhead that are structured by a one-dimensional light receiving elementarray arranged in the X-axis direction and a one-dimensional lightreceiving element array arranged in the Y-axis direction thatrespectively receive reflection light from the two-dimensional scaleilluminated by the light beam emitted from the light source. As thetwo-dimensional scale, for example, a scale is used that has a pluralityof square reflective portions (marks) arranged two-dimensionally at apredetermined period on a non-reflective base material (having areflectance of 0%) along two directions orthogonal to each other (theX-axis direction and the Y-axis), and whose reflection characteristics(reflectance) of the reflective portions have gradation that followpredetermined rules. As the two-dimensional absolute encoder, astructure similar to the two-dimensional absolute encoder disclosed in,for example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0070073 may beemployed. According to the absolute two-dimensional encoder having astructure similar to that of U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2014/0070073, the encoder allows measurement of two-dimensional positioninformation with high precision which is around the same level as theconventional incremental encoder. Because the encoder is an absoluteencoder, origin detection is not necessary unlike the incrementalencoder. Measurement information of position measurement system 28 issent to controller 600.

In the embodiment, as it will be described later on, positioninformation (shape information in the embodiment) within thethree-dimensional space of at least a part of the target surface (e.g.the upper surface) of workpiece W mounted on table 12 is measured usingmeasurement system 400, and then additive manufacturing (shaping) isperformed on workpiece W after the measurement. Accordingly, controller600, when measuring position information within the three-dimensionalspace of at least a part of the target surface on workpiece W,correlates the measurement results, measurement results of linearencoders 24 ₁ to 24 ₆ provided at rods 14 ₁ to 14 ₆ at the time ofmeasurement, and measurement results of position measurement system 28,so that the position and attitude of the target surface of workpiece Wmounted on table 12 can be correlated with a reference coordinate system(hereinafter called a table coordinate system) of shaping apparatus 100.This allows position control in directions of 6-DOF with respect to atarget value of target surface TAS on workpiece W thereinafter accordingto open loop control on the position of table 12 in directions of 6-DOFbased on the measurement results of linear encoders 24 ₁ to 24 ₆ andposition measurement system 28. In the embodiment, since absoluteencoders are used as linear encoders 24 ₁ to 24 _(F) and positionmeasurement system 28, origin search is not required which makes reseteasy. Note that the position information within the three-dimensionalspace to be measured with measurement system 400 used for makingposition control in directions of 6-DOF with respect to the target valueof target surface TAS on workpiece W according to open loop control onthe position of table 12 in directions of 6-DOF is not limited to shape,and is sufficient if the information is three-dimensional positioninformation of at least three points corresponding to the shape of thetarget surface.

In the above embodiment, while the case has been described of usingplanar motor 26 as a drive device for driving slider 10 within the XYplane, a linear motor may also be used instead of planar motor 26. Inthis case, instead of the two-dimensional absolute encoder previouslydescribed, the position measurement system that measures positioninformation of slider 10 may be structured using the absolute linearencoder. The position measurement system that measures positioninformation of slider 10 is not limited to the encoders and may also bestructured by using an interferometer system.

In the above embodiment, while an example was given of the case when themechanism for driving the table is structured using the planar motorwhich drives the slider within the XY plane and the Stewart platformtype 6-DOF parallel link mechanism in which the slider structures thebase platform, the mechanism is not limited to this, and the mechanismfor driving the table may also be structured by other types of parallellink mechanisms, or a mechanism other than the parallel link mechanism.For example, a slider that moves in the XY plane and a Z-tilt drivemechanism that drives table 12 in the Z-axis direction and aninclination direction with respect to the XY plane on the slider may beemployed. As an example of such Z-tilt drive mechanism, a mechanism canbe given that supports table 12 at each apex position of the trianglefrom below, via joints such as, e.g. universal joints, and also hasthree actuators (such as voice coil motors) that can move eachsupporting point independently from one another in the Z-axis direction.However, the structure of the mechanism for driving the table inmovement system 200 is not limited to these structures, and themechanism only has to have the structure of being able to drive thetable (movable member) on which the workpiece is mounted in directionsof at least 5-DOF that are directions of 3-DOF within the XY plane, theZ-axis direction, and the inclination direction with respect to the XYplane, does not necessarily have to be equipped with a slider that moveswithin the XY plane. For example, the movement system can be structuredwith a table and a robot that drives the table. In any structure, resetcan be performed easily when the measurement system for measuring theposition of the table is structured using a combination of the absolutelinear encoder, or a combination of the linear encoder and an absoluterotary encoder.

Other than this, instead of movement system 200, a system that can drivetable 12 in directions of at least 5-DOF, which are directions of 3-DOFwithin the XY plane, the Z-axis direction, and the inclination direction(θx or θy) with respect to the XY plane may be employed. In this case,table 12 in itself may be supported by levitation (supported in anon-contact manner) via a predetermined clearance (gap or space) on theupper surface of a support member such as base BS, by air floatation ormagnetic levitation. When such structure is employed, since the tablemoves in a noncontact manner with respect to the supporting member, thisis extremely advantageous in positioning accuracy and contributesgreatly to improving shaping accuracy.

Measurement system 400 performs measurement of the three-dimensionalposition information of the workpiece, e.g. measurement of shape, tocorrelate the position and the attitude of the workpiece mounted ontable 12 to the table coordinate system. Measurement system 400 isequipped with a laser noncontact type three-dimensional measuringmachine 401, as shown in FIG. 2. Three-dimensional measuring machine 401is equipped with a frame 30 installed on base BS, a head section 32attached to frame 30, a Z-axis guide 34 mounted on head section 32, arotating mechanism 36 provided at the lower end of Z-axis guide 34, anda sensor section 38 connected to the lower end of rotating mechanism 36.

Frame 30 consists of a horizontal member 40 extending in the Y-axisdirection and a pair of column members 42 supporting horizontal member40 from below at both ends of the Y-axis direction.

Head section 32 is attached to horizontal member 40 of frame 30.

Z-axis guide 34 is attached movable in the Z-axis direction to headsection 32 and is driven in the Z-axis direction by a Z drive mechanism44 (not shown in FIG. 2, refer to FIG. 11). Position in the Z-axisdirection (or displacement from a reference position) of Z-axis guide 34is measured by a Z encoder 46 (not shown in FIG. 2, refer to FIG. 11).

Rotating mechanism 36 rotationally drives sensor section 38 continuously(or in steps of a predetermined angle) around a rotation center axisparallel to the Z-axis within a predetermined angle range (e.g. within arange of 90 degrees (π/2) or 180 degrees (π)) with respect to headsection 32 (Z-axis guide 34). In the embodiment, the rotation centeraxis of sensor section 38 according to rotating mechanism 36 coincideswith a center axis of a line beam irradiated from an irradiation sectionto be described later on that structures sensor section 38. Rotationangle (or position of the sensor section in the θz direction) from areference position of sensor section 38 according to rotating mechanism36 is measured by a rotation angle sensor 48 (not shown in FIG. 2, referto FIG. 11) such as, for example, a rotary encoder.

Sensor section 36 is structured mainly of an irradiation section 50 thatirradiates a line beam for performing optical cutting on a test object(workpiece W in FIG. 2) mounted on table 12, and a detection section 52that detects the surface of the test object in which an optical cuttingsurface (line) appears by being irradiated by the line beam. Sensorsection 38 also has an arithmetic processing section 54 connected thatacquires the shape of the test object on the basis of image datadetected by detection section 52. Arithmetic processing section 54 inthe embodiment is included in controller 600 (refer to FIG. 11) that hasoverall control over each part structuring shaping apparatus 100.

Irradiation section 50 is structured of parts such as a cylindrical lens(not shown) and a slit plate having a thin strip-shaped cutout, andgenerates a fan-shaped line beam 50 a by receiving illumination lightfrom a light source. As the light source, LED, laser light source, SLD(super luminescent diode) or the like can be used. In the case of usingthe LED, the light source can be formed at a low cost. In the case ofusing the laser light source, a line beam with low aberration can beformed since the light source is a point light source, and sincewavelength stability is superior and half bandwidth small, a filter of asmall bandwidth can be used to cut stray light, which can reduce theinfluence of disturbance. In the case of using the SLD, in addition tothe properties of the laser light source, since coherence of the SLD islower than that of the laser, speckle generation at the test objectsurface can be suppressed. Detection section 52 is used for imaging linebeam 50 a projected on the surface of the test object (workpiece W) froma direction different from the light irradiation direction ofirradiation section 50. Detection section 52 is structured with parts(not shown) such as an imaging lens and a CCD, and as it is describedlater on, images the test object (workpiece W) each time table 12 ismoved and line beam 50 a is scanned at a predetermined interval.Positions of irradiation section 50 and detection section 52 are decidedso that an incident direction to detection section 52 of line beam 50 aon the surface of the test object (workpiece W) and a light irradiationdirection of irradiation section 50 form a predetermined angle θ. In theembodiment, the above predetermined angle θ is set to, e.g. 45 degrees.

The image data of the test object (workpiece W) imaged by detectionsection 52 is sent to arithmetic processing section 54 where apredetermined arithmetic processing is performed to calculate thesurface height of the test object (workpiece W) so that athree-dimensional shape (surface shape) of the test object (workpiece W)can be acquired. Arithmetic processing section 54, in the image of thetest object (workpiece W), calculates the height of the test object(workpiece W) surface from a reference plane using a principle oftriangulation for each pixel in the longitudinal direction in which theoptical cutting surface (line) (line beam 50 a) extends and performsarithmetic processing to acquire the three-dimensional shape of the testobject (workpiece W), on the basis of position information of opticalcutting surface (line) by line beam 50 a deformed according to theunevenness of the test object (workpiece W).

In the embodiment, controller 600 moves table 12 in a directionsubstantially orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of line beam 50 aprojected on the test object (workpiece W) so that line beam 50 a scansthe surface of test object (workpiece W). Controller 600 detectsrotation angle of sensor section 38 with rotation angle sensor 48, andmoves table 12 in the direction substantially orthogonal to thelongitudinal direction of line beam 50 a based on the detection results.As described, in the embodiment, since table 12 is moved on measurementof the shape or the like of the test object (workpiece W), as a premise,the position and the attitude of table 12 (position in directions of6-DOF) are constantly set to a predetermined reference state at thepoint when table 12 enters an area under sensor section 38 ofmeasurement system 400 holding workpiece W. The reference state is astate in which, e.g. rods 14 ₁ to 14 ₆ are all at a length correspondingto a neutral point (or a minimum length) of an expansion/contractionstroke range, and at this time, the position in each of the Z-axis, theθx, the θy and the θz directions of table 12 is (Z, θx, θy, θz)=(Z₀, 0,0, 0). In this reference state, position (X, Y) within the XY plane oftable 12 coincides with the X and the Y positions of slider 10 measuredwith position measurement system 28.

Then, the measurement described above to the test object (workpiece W)begins, and the position in directions of 6-DOF of table 12 iscontrolled by controller 600 on the table coordinate system, also duringthe measurement. That is, controller 600 controls the position indirections of 6-DOF of table 12 by controlling planar motor 26 based onthe measurement information of position measurement system 28 and bycontrolling expansion mechanisms 16 ₁ to 16 ₆ based on the measurementvalues of linear encoders 24 ₁ to 24 ₆.

In the case of using the optical cutting method as in three-dimensionalmeasuring machine 401 according to the present embodiment, line beam 50a irradiated on the test object (workpiece W) from irradiation section50 of sensor section 38 is preferably arranged in a direction orthogonalto a relative movement direction between sensor section 38 and table 12(test object (workpiece W)). For example, in FIG. 2, when the Y-axisdirection is set as the relative movement direction between sensorsection 38 and table 12 (test object (workpiece W)), line beam 50 a ispreferably arranged along the X-axis direction. This arrangement allowsrelative movement to the test object (workpiece W) while effectivelyusing the whole area of line beam 50 a at the time of measurement, andthe shape of the test object (workpiece W) can be measured optimally.Rotating mechanism 36 is provided so that the direction of line beam 50a and the relative movement direction described above can be orthogonalconstantly.

Three-dimensional measuring machine 401 described above is structuredsimilarly to the shape measurement apparatus disclosed in, for example,U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0105667. However, whilescanning of the line beam with respect to the test object in directionsparallel to the X, Y planes is performed by movement of the sensorsection in the apparatus described in U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2012/0105867, the embodiment differs on the point thatthe scanning is performed by moving table 12. In the embodiment,scanning of the line beam with respect to the test object in a directionparallel to the Z-axis may be performed by driving either Z-axis guide34 or table 12.

In the measurement method of using three-dimensional measuring machine401 according to the present embodiment, by using the optical cuttingmethod, a linear projection pattern consisting of a line beam isprojected on the surface of the test object, and each time the linearprojection pattern is scanned with respect to the whole surface of thetest object surface, the linear projection pattern projected on the testobject is imaged from an angle different from the projection direction.Then, from the captured image of the test object surface that wasimaged, the height of the test object surface from the reference planeis calculated using the principle of triangulation for each pixel in thelongitudinal direction of the linear projection pattern, and thethree-dimensional shape of the test object surface is acquired.

Other than this, as the three-dimensional measuring machine thatstructures measurement system 400, a device having a structure similarto an optical probe disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,009,717can also be used. This optical probe is structured by two or moreoptical groups, and includes two or more visual field directions and twoor more projection directions. One optical group includes one or morevisual field direction and one or more projection direction, and atleast one visual field direction and at least one projection directiondiffer between the optical groups, and data acquired from the visualfield direction is generated only from a pattern projected from theprojection direction in the same optical group.

Measurement system 400 may be equipped with a mark detection system 56(refer to FIG. 11) for optically detecting an alignment mark instead ofthe three-dimensional measuring machine 401, above, or in addition tothe three-dimensional measuring machine described above. Mark detectionsystem 56 can detect an alignment mark formed, for example, on theworkpiece. Controller 600, by accurately detecting each center position(three-dimensional coordinate) of at least three alignment marks usingmark detection system 56, calculates the position and attitude of theworkpiece (or table 12). Such mark detection system 56 can be structuredincluding, e.g. a stereo camera. A structure may also be employed inwhich mark detection system 56 optically detects alignment marksarranged beforehand at a minimum of three places on table 12.

In the embodiment, controller 600 scans the surface (target surface) ofworkpiece W and acquires the surface shape data, using thethree-dimensional measuring machine 401 in the manner described above.Then, controller 600 performs least-square processing and performscorrelation of the three-dimensional position and attitude of the targetsurface on the workpiece to the table coordinate system using thesurface shape data. Here, because the position of table 12 in directionsof 6-DOF is controlled on the table coordinate system by controller 600also during the time of measurement to the test object (workpiece W)described above, control of the position (that is, position andattitude) of workpiece W in directions of 6-DOF including the time ofadditive manufacturing by three-dimensional shaping can all be performedby an open-loop control of table 12 according to the table coordinatesystem, after the three-dimensional position and attitude have beencorrelated to the table coordinate system.

FIG. 4 shows beam shaping system 500, along with table 12 on whichworkpiece W is mounted. As shown in FIG. 4, beam shaping system 500includes a light source system 510, and is equipped with a beamirradiation section 520 that emits a beam, a material processing section530 that supplies a powdery shaping material, and a water shower nozzle540 (not shown in FIG. 4, refer to FIG. 11). Note that beam shapingsystem 500 does not have to be equipped with water shower nozzle 540.

Light source system 510, as is shown in FIG. 5, is equipped with a lightsource unit 60, a light guide fiber 62 connected to light source unit60, and a double fly-eye optical system 64 and a condenser lens system66 placed on the exit side of light guide fiber 62.

Light source unit 60 has a housing 68, and a plurality of laser units 70which are housed inside housing 68 and are arranged parallel to oneanother in the shape of a matrix.

As laser unit 70, a unit that serves as a light source can be used suchas various types of lasers that perform pulse oscillation or continuouswave oscillating operation, an Nd:YAG laser, a fiber laser, or aGaN-based semiconductor laser.

Light guide fiber 62 is a fiber bundle structured by randomly bundlingmany optical fiber strands that has a plurality of incident ports 62 aconnected individually to the light-emitting end of the plurality oflaser units 70 and a light-emitting section 62 b that has morelight-emitting ports than the number of incident ports 62 a. Light guidefiber 62 receives a plurality of laser beams (hereinafter appropriatelyshortened to as a “beam”)) emitted from each of the plurality of laserunits 70 via each incident port 62 a and distributes the beam to theplurality of light-emitting ports so that at least a part of each laserbeam is emitted from a common light-emitting port. In this manner, lightguide fiber 62 mixes and emits the beams emitted from each of theplurality of laser units 70. This allows the total output to beincreased according to the number of laser unit 70 s when compared tothe case when a single laser unit is used. However, the plurality oflaser units do not have to be used in the case the output acquired isenough using a single laser unit.

Light-emitting section 62 b here has a sectional shape similar to awhole shape of an incident end of a first fly-eye lens system thatstructures an incident end of double fly-eye optical system 64 whichwill be described next, and the light-emitting ports are provided in anapproximately even arrangement within the section. Therefore, lightguide fiber 62 also serves as a shaping optical system that shapes thebeam mixed in the manner described above so that the beam is shapedsimilar to the whole shape of the incident end of the first fly-eye lenssystem.

Double fly-eye optical system 64 is a system for making a uniformcross-sectional illuminance distribution (sectional intensitydistribution) of the beam (illumination light), and is structured with afirst fly-eye lens system 72, a lens system 74, and a second fly-eyelens system 76 arranged sequentially on a beam path (optical path) ofthe laser beam behind light guide fiber 62. Note that a diaphragm isprovided in the periphery of the second fly-eye lens system 75.

In this case, an incidence plane of the first fly-eye lens system 72 andan incidence plane of the second fly-eye lens system 76 are setoptically conjugate to each other. A focal plane (a surface light sourceto be described later is formed here) on the exit side of the firstfly-eye lens system 72, a focal plane (a surface light source to bedescribed later is formed here) on the exit side of the second fly-eyelens system 76, and a pupil plane (entrance pupil) PP of a condensingoptical system 82 (to be described later on) are set optically conjugateto one another. Note that in the embodiment, a pupil plane (entrancepupil) PP of a condensing optical system 82 coincides with a focal planeon the front side (refer to FIGS. such as, for example, 4, 6 and 7).

The beam mixed by light guide fiber 62 is incident on the first fly-eyelens system 72 of double fly-eye optical system 64. With this, a surfacelight source, i.e. secondary light source consisting of many lightsource images (point light sources), is formed on a focal plane on theexit side of the first fly-eye lens system 72. The laser beams from eachof the many point light sources are incident on the second fly-eye lenssystem 76 via lens system 74. With this, a surface light source (atertiary light source) in which many fine light source imagesdistributed in a uniform manner within an area of a predetermined shapeare formed on a focal plane on the exit side of the second fly-eye lenssystem 76.

Condenser lens system 66 emits the laser beam emitted from the tertiarylight source described above as a beam that has uniform illuminancedistribution.

Note that by performing optimization on the area of the incident end ofthe second fly-eye lens system 76, the focal distance of condenser lenssystem 66 and the like, the beam emitted from condenser lens system 66can be regarded as a parallel beam.

Light source 510 of the embodiment is equipped with an illuminanceuniformizing optical system that is equipped with light guide fiber 62,double fly-eye optical system 64, and condenser lens system 66, andusing this illuminance uniformizing optical system, mixes the beamsemitted from each of the plurality of laser units 70 and generates aparallel beam having a cross-section with uniform illuminancedistribution.

Note that the illuminance uniformizing optical system is not limited tothe structure described above. For example, the illuminance uniformizingoptical system may be structured using a rod integrator or a collimatorlens system.

Light source unit 60 of light source system 510 is connected tocontroller 600, and controller 600 individually controls the on/off ofthe plurality of laser units 70 structuring light source unit 60. Withthis control, the amount of light of the laser beam (laser output)irradiated (on the target surface) on workpiece W from beam irradiationsection 520 is adjusted.

Note that shaping apparatus 100 does not have to be equipped with lightsource unit 60, or light source unit and the illuminance uniformizingoptical system. For example, a parallel beam having a desired lightamount (energy) and desired illuminance uniformity may be supplied toshaping apparatus 100 from an external device.

Beam irradiation section 520, other than light source system 510, has abeam section intensity conversion optical system 78, a mirror array 80which is a type of spatial light modulator (SLM: Spatial LightModulator), and a condensing optical system 82 which condenses the lightfrom mirror array 80 that are sequentially arranged on the optical pathof the parallel beam from light source system 510 (condenser lens system66), as shown in FIG. 4. The spatial light modulator here is a generalterm for an element that spatially modulates the amplitude (intensity),phase, or state of polarization of light advancing in a predetermineddirection.

Beam section intensity conversion optical system 78 performs conversionof the intensity distribution of the cross sectional surface of theparallel beam from light source system 510 (condenser lens system 66).In the embodiment, beam section intensity conversion optical system 78converts the parallel beam from light source system 510 into a parallelbeam having a donut shape (annular shape) with the intensity of an areaincluding the center of the cross sectional surface being substantiallyzero. Beam section intensity conversion optical system 78, in theembodiment, is structured, for example, with a convex conically shapedreflection mirror and a concave conically shaped reflection mirror thatare sequentially placed on the optical path of the parallel beam fromlight source system 510. The convex conically shaped reflection mirrorhas a conically shaped reflection surface formed on its outer peripheralsurface on the light source system 510 side, and the concave conicallyshaped reflection mirror, consisting of an annular-shaped member havingan inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the convex conicallyshaped reflection mirror, has a reflection surface facing the reflectionsurface of the convex conically shaped reflection mirror formed on itsinner peripheral surface. In this case, when viewing from an arbitrarysectional surface that passes through the center of the concaveconically shaped reflection mirror, the reflection surface of the convexconically shaped reflection mirror and the reflection surface of theconcave conically shaped reflection mirror are parallel.

Consequently, the parallel beam from light source system 510 isreflected radially by the reflection surface of the convex conicallyshaped reflection mirror, and by this reflection beam being reflected bythe reflection surface of the concave conically shaped reflectionmirror, the beam is converted into the annular shaped parallel beam.

In the embodiment, the parallel beam that passes through beam sectionintensity conversion optical system 78 is irradiated on the workpiece,via mirror array 80 and condensing optical system 82 in the manner to bedescribed later on. By converting the intensity distribution of thecross sectional surface of the parallel beam from light source system510 using beam section intensity conversion optical system 78, itbecomes possible to change intensity distribution of the beam incidenton pupil plane (entrance pupil) of condensing optical system 82 frommirror array 80. In addition, by converting the intensity distributionof the cross sectional surface of the parallel beam from light sourcesystem 510 using beam section intensity conversion optical system 78, itbecomes possible to substantially change intensity distribution in theexit plane of condensing optical system 82 of the beam emitted fromcondensing optical system 82.

Note that beam section intensity conversion optical system 78 is notlimited to the combination of the convex conically shaped reflectionmirror and the concave conically shaped reflection mirror, and may bestructured using a combination of a diffractive optical element, anafocal lens, and a conical axicon system as is disclosed in, forexample, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0030852. Beamsection intensity conversion optical system 78 is sufficient if itperforms conversion of the intensity distribution of the cross sectionalsurface of the beam, and various structures can be considered. Dependingon the structure of beam section intensity conversion optical system 78,it is possible to make the parallel beam from light source 510 such thatthe intensity in the area including the center of the cross sectionalsurface (optical axis of condensing optical system 82) is not nearlyzero, but smaller than the intensity on the outer side of the area.

Mirror array 80, in the embodiment, has a base member BOA that has asurface which forms an angle of 45 degrees (π/4) with respect to the XYplane and an XZ plane (hereinafter caller a reference surface for thesake of convenience), e.g. M(=PxQ) mirror elements 81 _(p,q) (p=1 to P,q=1 to Q) arranged in a matrix shape of, e.g. P rows and G columns, onthe reference surface of base member BOA, and a drive section 87 (notshown in FIG. 4, refer to FIG. 11) including M actuators (not shown)that separately drive each mirror element 81 _(p,q). Mirror array 80 cansubstantially form a large reflection surface parallel to the referencesurface by adjusting tilt of numerous mirror elements 81 _(p,q), withrespect to the reference surface.

Each mirror element 81 _(p,q) of mirror array 80, for example, isstructured rotatable around a rotation axis parallel to one diagonalline of mirror element 81 _(p,q), and a tilt angle of its reflectionsurface with respect to the reference surface can be set to an arbitraryangle within a predetermined angle range. The angle of the reflectionsurface of each mirror element is measured using a sensor that detects arotation angle of the rotation axis, e.g. a rotary encoder 83 _(p,q)(not shown in FIG. 4, refer to FIG. 11).

Drive section 87, for example, includes an electromagnet or a voice coilmotor serving as an actuator, and the individual mirror elements 81_(p,q) are driven by the actuator and operate at an extremely highresponse.

Of the plurality of mirror elements structuring mirror array 80, each ofthe mirror elements 81 _(p,q) illuminated by the annular shape parallelbeam from light source system 510 emits a reflection beam (parallelbeam) according to the tilt angle of the reflection surface and makesthe beam enter condensing optical system 82 (refer to FIG. 6). Note thatalthough the reason for using mirror array 80 and the reason for makingthe annular shape parallel beam enter mirror array 80 in the embodimentis to be described later on, the parallel beam does not necessarily haveto be an annular shape, and the cross sectional surface shape (crosssectional surface intensity distribution) of the parallel beam enteringmirror array 80 may be made different from the annular shape, or beamsection intensity conversion optical system 78 may not have to beprovided.

Condensing optical system 82 is a high numerical aperture (N.A.) and lowaberration optical system having a numerical aperture of, e.g. 0.5 ormore, or preferably 0.6 or more. Because condensing optical system 82has a large diameter, low aberration, and high N.A., the plurality ofparallel beams from mirror array 80 can be condensed on a rear focalplane. Although details will be described later on, beam irradiationsection 520 can condense the beam emitted from condensing optical system82 into, e.g. a spot shape or a slit shape. In addition, becausecondensing optical system 82 is structured using one or a plurality oflarge diameter lenses (FIG. 4 representatively shows one large diameterlens), the area of incident light can be enlarged, which allows morelight energy to be taken in when compared to the case of using acondensing optical system with a small N.A. Consequently, the beamcondensed using condensing optical system 82 according to the embodimentis extremely sharp and will have high energy density, which is connecteddirectly with improving the processing accuracy of additivemanufacturing by shaping.

In the embodiment, as it will be described later on, a case in whichshaping (machining processing) is performed by moving table 12 in a scandirection (the Y-axis direction as an example in FIG. 4) parallel to theXY plane and relatively scanning the beam and workpiece W that hastarget surface TAS of shaping at the upper end in the scan direction(scan direction). It goes without saying that table 12 may be moved inat least one of the X-axis direction, the Z-axis direction, the θxdirection, the θy direction, and the θz direction, during the movementof table 12 in the Y-axis direction on shaping. In addition, as it willbe described later on, powdery shaping material (metal material)supplied from material processing section 530 is melted by the energy ofthe laser beam. Consequently as it is previously described, if the totalamount of energy that condensing optical system 82 takes in becomeslarger, the amount of energy of the beam emitted from condensing opticalsystem 82 becomes larger, and this increases the amount of metal thatcan be melted in a unit time. If the amount of the shaping materialsupplied and the speed of table 12 are increased accordingly, thisincreases throughput of shaping processing by beam shaping system 500.

However, even if the total output of the laser is increased using themethod previously described, because the speed of the scanning operationof table 12 cannot actually be increased to infinity, throughput thattakes full advantage of the laser power cannot be achieved. To solvethis issue, in shaping apparatus 100 of the embodiment, as it will bedescribed later on, an irradiation area of a slit shaped beam(hereinafter called a straight line area (refer to reference code LS inFIG. 9B)) can be formed instead of an irradiation area of a spot shapedbeam on a predetermined plane (hereinafter called shaping surface) MP(refer to, e.g. FIGS. 4 and 9A) where target surface TAS of shaping isto be aligned, and shaping (machining processing) can be performed whilerelatively scanning workpiece W with respect to a beam forming straightline area LS (hereinafter called a straight line beam) in a directionperpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the beam. This allows agreatly broad area (e.g. an area larger by several times to several tensof times) to be processed at once when compared to the case of scanningthe workpiece with a spot shaped beam. Note that, although shapingsurface MP described above is a rear focal plane of condensing opticalsystem 82 in the embodiment as it will be described later on, theshaping surface may be a surface near the rear focal plane. In addition,in the embodiment, although shaping surface MP is perpendicular to anoptical axis AX at the exit side of condensing optical system 82, thesurface does not have to be perpendicular.

As a method of setting or changing the intensity distribution of thebeam on shaping surface MP (e.g. a method of forming the straight linearea as in the description above), for example, a method can be employedin which an incidence angle distribution of the plurality of parallelbeams incident on condensing optical system 82 is controlled. In a lenssystem that condenses the parallel beam at one point like condensingoptical system 82 of the embodiment, the focal position at the rearfocal plane (condensing plane) is determined by the incidence angle ofparallel beam LB (e.g. refer to FIGS. 4 and 6) on pupil plane (entrancepupil) PP. The incidence angle here is decided from, a. an angleα(0≤α<90 degrees (π/2)) which is an angle that the parallel beamincident on pupil plane PP of condensing optical system 82 forms withrespect to an axis parallel to optical axis AX of condensing opticalsystem 82, and b. a reference axis (e.g. an angle β(0≤β<360 degrees(2π)) with respect to the X-axis (X≥0)) on a two-dimensional orthogonalcoordinate system (X, Y) of an orthogonal projection to pupil plane PP(XY coordinate plane) of the parallel beam incident on pupil plane PPwhen the two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system (X, Y) orthogonalto optical axis AX that has a point on optical axis AX serving as anorigin is set on pupil plane PP. For example, the beam that is incidenton pupil plane PP of condensing optical system 82 perpendicularly(parallel to the optical axis) condenses on optical axis AX, and thebeam that is slightly tilted with respect to condensing optical system82 (with respect to optical axis AX) condenses at a position slightlyshifted from the position on optical axis AX. By using this relation andmaking the incidence angle (incident direction) of the plurality ofparallel beams LB incident on pupil plane PP of condensing opticalsystem 82 have an appropriate distribution when reflecting and makingthe parallel beam from light source system 510 enter condensing opticalsystem 82, intensity distribution of the beam within shaping surface MPsuch as, e.g. at least one of position, number, size and shape of theirradiation area in shaping surface MP, can be arbitrarily changed.Consequently, it is naturally easy to form areas such as, e.g. astraight line area, a three line area, or a broken straight line area(refer to FIG. 10), and is also easy to form a spot shaped irradiationarea. Note that although the incidence angle (incident direction) isdescribed here using angle α and angle β, various ways may be consideredof expressing the incidence angle (incident direction), and it goeswithout saying that the incidence angle (incident direction) of theparallel beam incident on pupil plane PP is not limited to the controlusing angle α and angle β as parameters.

In condensing optical system 82 of the embodiment, since the structureis employed so that pupil plane (entrance pupil) PP coincides with thefront focal plane, the condensing position of the plurality of parallelbeams LB can be controlled accurately in a simple manner by changing theincidence angle of the plurality of parallel beams LB using mirror array80, however, the structure of the pupil plane (entrance pupil) PP andthe front focal plane coinciding does not necessarily have to beemployed.

If the shape and size of the irradiation area formed on the shapingsurface are not variable, the position of the irradiation area can alsobe changed by controlling the incidence angle of one parallel beamincident on the pupil plane of condensing optical system 82 using asolid mirror of a desired shape.

However, in the case of performing additive manufacturing (shaping) tothe workpiece, the area of the target surface on which the targetportion of shaping is not always set constantly on a flat surface. Thatis, relative scanning of the straight line beam is not always possible.At places such as near the outline of the workpiece, or around theborder of a solid area and a hollow area, the border may be tilted,narrow or curved, making it difficult to apply relative scanning of thestraight line beam. For instance, since it is difficult to paint outsuch an area with a wide brush, a thin brush corresponding to the areaor a thin pencil will be necessary, that is to say, the brushes and thethin pencil are to be used to suit their use freely real time andcontinuously. Similarly, near the outline edge of the workpiece oraround the border of the solid area and the hollow area, requirementssuch as changing the width in the scan direction (relative movingdirection) of the irradiation area of the beam or changing the size(e.g. the length of the straight line beam), number or position(position of the irradiation point of the beam) of the irradiation areaoccur.

Therefore, in the embodiment, mirror array 80 is employed, andcontroller 600 makes each mirror element 81 _(p,q) operate at anextremely high response so that the incidence angle of the plurality ofparallel beams LB entering pupil plane PP of condensing optical system82 can be controlled respectively. This allows intensity distribution ofthe beam on shaping surface MP to be set or changed. In this case,controller 600 can change the intensity distribution of the beam onshaping surface MP, such as, for example, at least one of shape, size,and number of the irradiation area of the beam, during relative movementof the beam and target surface TAS (a surface on which target portion TAof shaping is set, and in the embodiment, a surface on workpiece W). Inthis case, controller 600 can continuously or intermittently change theintensity distribution of the beam on shaping surface MP. For example,it is possible to continuously or intermittently change the width of thestraight line area in the relative moving direction during relativemovement of the beam and target surface TAS. Controller 600 can alsochange the intensity distribution of the beam on shaping surface MPaccording to the relative position of the beam and target surface TAS.Controller 600 can also change the intensity distribution of the beam onshaping surface MP according to a required shaping accuracy andthroughput.

In addition, in the embodiment, controller 600 detects the state of eachmirror element (in this case, tilt angle of the reflection surface)using rotary encoder 83 _(p,q) previously described, and by thisdetection, monitors the state of each mirror element real time so thatthe tilt angle of the reflection surface of each mirror element ofmirror array 80 can be accurately controlled.

Material processing section 530, as shown in FIG. 7, has a nozzle unit84 which has a nozzle member (hereinafter shortly described as a nozzle)84 a provided below the exit plane of condensing optical system 82, amaterial supplying device 86 connected to nozzle unit 84 via a piping 90a, a plurality of, e.g. two, powder cartridges 88A and 88B eachconnected to material supplying device 86 via piping. FIG. 7 shows aportion below condensing optical system 82 shown in FIG. 4, when viewedfrom the −Y direction.

Nozzle unit 84 extends in the X-axis direction below condensing opticalsystem 82, and is equipped with a nozzle 84 a that has at least onesupplying port for supplying powdered shaping material, and a pair ofsupport members 84 b and 84 c that support both ends in the longitudinaldirection of nozzle 84 a and also have each upper end connected to thehousing of condensing optical system 82. To one of the support members,84 b, one end (the lower end) of material supplying device 86 isconnected via piping 90 a, and support member 84 b has a supply pathformed inside that communicates piping 90 a with nozzle 84 a. In theembodiment, nozzle 84 a is placed directly below the optical axis ofcondensing optical system 82, and in its lower surface (bottom surface),has a plurality of supply ports provided that will be described lateron. Note that nozzle 84 a does not necessarily have to be placed on theoptical axis of condensing optical system 82, and may be placed at aposition slightly shifted from the optical axis to one side of theY-axis direction.

To the other end (the upper end) of material supplying device 86 isconnected to piping 90 b and 90 c serving as supply paths to materialsupplying device 86, and powder cartridges 88A and 88B are connected tomaterial supplying device 86 via piping 90 b and 90 c, respectively. Inone of the powder cartridges, 88A, powder of a first shaping material(e.g. titanium) is stored. In the other powder cartridge, 88B, powder ofa second shaping material (e.g. stainless steel) is stored.

Note that in the embodiment, although shaping apparatus 100 is equippedwith two powder cartridges for supplying two types of shaping materialto material supplying device 86, the number of powder cartridges thatshaping apparatus 100 is equipped with may be one.

While the powder from powder cartridges 88A and 88B to materialsupplying device 86 may be supplied so that powder cartridges 88A and88B each have a function of forcibly supplying the powder to materialsupplying device 86, in the embodiment, material supplying device 86 ismade to have a function of switching between piping 90 b and 90 c, aswell as a function of performing suction of the powder from eitherpowder cartridge 88A or 88B by using vacuum. Material supplying device86 is connected to controller 600 (refer to FIG. 11). Material supplyingdevice 86 is connected to controller 600 (refer to FIG. 11). At the timeof shaping, controller 600 performs switching between piping 90 b and 90c using material supplying device 86, selectively chooses between thepowder of the first shaping material (e.g. titanium) from powdercartridge 88A and the powder of the second shaping material (e.g.stainless steel) from powder cartridge 888, and supplies the powder ofone of the shaping materials to nozzle 84 a from material supplyingdevice 86 via piping 90 a. Note that by changing the structure ofmaterial supplying device 86, a structure may be employed in which thepowder of the first shaping material from powder cartridge 88A and thepowder of the second shaping material from powder cartridge 88B aresupplied simultaneously to material supplying device 86 when necessary,and the mixture of the two shaping materials can be supplied to nozzle84 a via piping 90 a. Note that a nozzle connectable to powder cartridge88A and another nozzle connectable to powder cartridge 88B may beprovided below condensing optical system 82 so as to supply the powderat the time of shaping from either one of the nozzles, or from both ofthe nozzles.

In addition, controller 600 can adjust the supply amount per unit timeof the shaping material supplied to nozzle 84 a from powder cartridges88A and 88B via material supplying device 86. For example, by adjustingthe amount of powder supplied to material supplying device 86 from atleast either one of powder cartridges 88A or 88B, the amount of shapingmaterial per unit time supplied to nozzle 84 a via material supplyingdevice 86 can be adjusted. For example, by adjusting the vacuum levelused to supply the powder to material supplying device 86 from powdercartridges 88A and 88B, the amount of shaping material per unit timesupplied to nozzle 84 a can be adjusted. Alternately, it is alsopossible to adjust the amount of shaping material per unit time suppliedto nozzle 84 a by providing a valve for adjusting the amount of powdersupplied to piping 90 a from material supplying device 86.

Here, although it is not shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of, e.g. N supplyports 91 ₁ (i=1 to N), are actually formed at an equal spacing in theX-axis direction on the lower surface (bottom surface) of nozzle 84 aand each supply port 91 ₁ can be opened/closed individually by anopen/close member 93 ₁, as shown in FIG. 8. Note that FIG. 8, for thesake of convenience, shows 12 supply ports 91 ₁ as an example, and isdrawn to explain the relation between the supply port and the open/closemember. However, the number of supply ports formed is actually more than12 and the partition between adjacent supply ports is narrower. However,the number of supply ports is not limited, as long as the supply portsare arranged along almost the entire length in the longitudinaldirection of nozzle 84 a. For example, the supply port may be one slitshaped opening that is arranged along almost the entire length in thelongitudinal direction of nozzle 84 a.

Open/close member 93 ₁, as is representatively shown as 93 k in FIG. 8indicated by an arrow as the k^(th) open/close member, is drivablesliding in the +Y direction and −Y direction to open/close supply port91 ₁. Open/close member 93 ₁ is not limited to the slide drive, and maybe structured rotatable in the inclination direction with one endserving as a center.

Each open/close member 93 ₁ is driven and controlled by controller 600,via an actuator not shown. Controller 600 performs open/close control ofeach of the plurality of supply ports, e.g. N supply ports 91 ₁, usingeach open/close member 93 ₁ according to the intensity distribution ofthe beam on the shaping surface, such as for example, setting (orchange) of the shape, the size, and the arrangement of the irradiationarea of the beam formed on the shaping surface. This allows the supplyoperation of the shaping material by material processing section 530 tobe controlled. In this case, controller 600 selects at least one supplyport of the plurality of supply ports 91 ₁, and only open/close member93 ₁ that closes the selected at least one supply port operates underthe open control, or for example, is driven in the −Y direction.Consequently, in the embodiment, the shaping material can be suppliedusing only a part of the plurality of, or N supply ports 91 ₁.

In addition, according to at least one of the supply amount control perunit time of the shaping material supplied to nozzle 84 a via materialsupplying device 86 and the open/close control using the arbitraryopen/close member 93 ₁ previously described, controller 600 can adjustthe supply amount per unit time of the shaping material from supply port91 ₁ opened/closed by the arbitrary open/close member 93 ₁. Controller600 determines the supply amount per unit time of the shaping materialfrom the arbitrary supply port 91 ₁ according to the intensitydistribution of the beam on the shaping surface, such as setting (orchange) of the shape, the size, and the arrangement of the irradiationarea of the beam formed on the shaping surface. Controller 600determines the supply amount per unit time from each supply port 91 ₁based on, for example, the width of the scan direction of the straightline area previously described.

Note that a structure may be employed in which the opening degree ofeach supply port 91 ₁; is adjustable with each open/close member 93 ₁.In this case, controller 600 may adjust the opening degree of eachsupply port 91 ₁ with each open/close member 93 ₁, for example,according to the width of the scan direction of the straight line areapreviously described.

Other than this, at least one supply port that supplies the powderedshaping material may be movable. For example, a structure may beemployed in which one slit shaped supply port extending in the X-axisdirection is formed on the lower surface of nozzle 84 a and nozzle 84 ais made movable, for example, in at least either the X-axis direction orthe Y-axis direction with respect to the pair of support members 84 band 84 c, and controller 600 may move nozzle 84 a that has the supplyport formed on its lower surface according to intensity distributionchange of the beam on the shaping surface, that is, change in shape,size, and position of the irradiation area of the beam. Note that nozzle84 a may also be movable in the Z-axis direction.

Or, nozzle 84 a may be structured from a main section and at least twomovable members that are movable in at least one of the X-axis directionand the Y-axis direction within the XY plane with respect to the mainsection and have a supply port formed at the bottom surface, and atleast a part of the movable members may be moved, by controller 600,according to intensity distribution change of the beam on the shapingsurface. Also in this case, at least a part of the movable members maybe movable in the Z-axis direction.

Further, a structure may be employed in which one supply port andanother supply port of the plurality of supply ports are relativelymovable. Or, for example, the position in the Y-axis direction maydiffer between the one supply port described above and the anothersupply port described above. Or, the position in the Z-axis directionmay differ between the one supply port described above and the anothersupply port described above.

Note that moving of at least one supply port may be performed not onlywith setting or changing the intensity distribution of the beam, but maybe moved also for other purposes.

As is previously described, the plurality of supply ports 91 ₁ providedat nozzle 84 a are arranged orthogonal to the optical axis of condensingoptical system 82 in the X-axis direction at an equal spacing across theentire length of nozzle 84 a, with only little space between adjacentsupply ports 91 ₁. Therefore, as indicated by a black arrow in FIG. 9A,if the powdered shaping material. PD is supplied directly down along theZ-axis direction parallel to optical axis AX of condensing opticalsystem 82 from each of the plurality of supply ports 91 ₁ of nozzle 84a, then shaping material PD will be supplied to the straight line areaLS (irradiation area of the straight line beam) previously describeddirectly below optical axis AX of condensing optical system 82. In thiscase, the supply of shaping material PD from nozzle 84 a can beperformed by using self-weight of shaping material PD or by blowout towhich a slight blowout pressure is applied. Consequently, a complicatedmechanism such as a gas flow generation mechanism for guiding theshaping material in the case when the shaping material is supplied froman oblique direction with respect to the target surface of the shapingwill not be required. In addition, it is extremely advantageous that theshaping material can be supplied perpendicularly at close range to theworkpiece as in the embodiment when securing processing accuracy onshaping.

Note that a gas supply port may be provided at nozzle 84 a. The gas flowof the gas supplied from the gas supply port may be used to guide theshaping material supplied or may be used for other purposes such as tocontribute to shaping.

In the embodiment, since the annular shape parallel beam is irradiatedon mirror array 80, the reflection beam from mirror array 80 enters apartial area (a partial area where N.A. is large) near the periphery ofcondensing optical system 82 and is condensed at the exit end ofcondensing optical system 82, that is on shaping surface MP (coincideswith the rear focal plane of condensing optical system 82 in theembodiment) of condensing optical system 82 via an area in a peripheralend part distanced from the optical axis of a terminal end lenspositioned at the exit end of beam irradiation section 520 (refer toFIG. 4). That is, the straight line beam, for example, is formed only bythe light that passes through the area near the periphery of the samecondensing optical system 82. Therefore, a beam spot (laser spot) withhigh quality can be formed when compared to the case when a beam spotlight that passes separate optical systems are condensed on the samearea. In addition, in the embodiment, a limit can be set to the beamirradiated on nozzle 84 a provided in the center below the exit plane(lower end surface) of condensing optical system 82. Therefore, in theembodiment, it becomes possible to use all the reflection beams frommirror array 80 to form the spot, and parts such as a light shieldingmember to limit the beam irradiating on nozzle 84 a will not necessarilyhave to be arranged at the part corresponding to nozzle 84 a on theincident surface side of condensing optical system 82. For such reasons,the annular shape parallel beam is used to illuminate mirror array 80.

Note that the optical member positioned at the exit end of condensingoptical system 82 only has to be a member that at least can form anoptical surface at an area distanced from an optical axis of a surfaceon the exit side and condense a beam on a shaping surface (rear focalplane) via the optical surface. Consequently, this optical member may bea member having at least one of the exit surface and the incidence planeperpendicular to the optical axis of condensing optical system in thearea including the optical axis, or having a hole formed in the areaincluding the optical axis. The optical member positioned at the exitend of condensing optical system 82 may be structured arranging a donutshaped condensing lens with a hole in the center part area including theoptical axis.

Note that to limit the beam incident on nozzle 84 a from condensingoptical system 82, for example, a limit member 85 indicated by a doubledotted line in FIG. 7 may be provided at the incidence plane side (e.g.pupil plane PP) of condensing optical system 82. Limit member 85 limitsthe beam from condensing optical system 82 when entering nozzle 84 a. Aslimit member 85, although a light shielding member may be used, partssuch as a light attenuation filter may also be used.

In such a case, the parallel beam incident on condensing optical system82 may be a parallel beam having a circular sectional shape, or may bean annular shape beam. In the latter case, because the beam is notirradiated on limit member 85, it becomes possible to use the reflectionbeam from mirror array 80 exclusively for forming the spot.

Note that although the beam incident on nozzle 84 a from condensingoptical system 82 does not necessarily have to be shielded completely,to prevent the beam from condensing optical system 82 being incident onnozzle 84 a, the beam may be made incident only from separate peripheryend part areas (e.g. two circular arc areas) at both sides of theoptical axis in the Y-axis direction at the exit plane of a terminal endlens of condensing optical system 82.

Water shower nozzle 540 (refer to FIG. 11) is used on the so-calledquenching. Water shower nozzle 540 has a supply port that supplies acooling liquid (cooling water) and spouts the cooling liquid at acooling target. Water shower nozzle 540 is connected to controller 600(refer to FIG. 11).

Controller 600 controls light source unit 60 on quenching so thatthermal energy of the beam from beam irradiation section 520 is adjustedto an appropriate value for quenching. Then, after irradiating the beamon the surface of the workpiece to increase the temperature to a highdegree, controller 600 can perform quenching by spouting the coolingliquid at the high temperature part to rapidly cool the part, via watershower nozzle 540. In this case, it is also possible to perform additivemanufacturing to the workpiece according to three-dimensional shapingand quenching simultaneously.

Note that when the quenching process is performed simultaneously withthe additive manufacturing, it is desirable to use a metal havingexcellent quenchability as the shaping material.

In the embodiment, at the time of additive manufacturing or the like tothe workpiece, as is shown in FIG. 9A which is an enlarged view of FIG.4 and circle A of FIG. 4, the beam (illustrated as beams LB1 ₁ and LB1 ₂for the sake of convenience in FIG. 9A) that passes though the vicinityof the periphery end part of condensing optical system 32 and though theoptical path of nozzle 84 a on the +Y side and −Y side (the front andthe rear of the scan direction of workpiece W (table 12)) is condenseddirectly below nozzle 84 a, and straight line area LS with alongitudinal direction in the X-axis direction (orthogonal direction ofthe page surface in FIG. 9A) is formed on the shaping surface (refer toFIG. 9B), and to the straight line beam that forms straight line areaLS, powdered shaping material PD is supplied along the Z-axis (along anXZ plane including optical axis AX) parallel to optical axis AX ofcondensing optical system 82 via the plurality of supply ports 91 ₁ ofnozzle 84 a. This forms a linear molten pool WP extending in the X-axisdirection directly below nozzle 84 a. Formation of such molten pool WPis performed while table 12 is scanned in the scan direction (+Ydirection in FIG. 9A). This makes it possible to form a bead (melted andsolidified metal) BE of a predetermined width that covers the length inthe longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the straight line beam(molten pool WP). Note that beams LB1 ₁ and LB1 ₂ shown in FIG. 9A maybe separate parallel beams that are incident on pupil plane PP ofcondensing optical system 82 at different incidence angles eachreflected by different mirror elements 81 _(p,q) of mirror array 80, ormay be the same parallel beam, such as for example, a part of a parallelbeam having an annular sectional shape.

In the case of making the plurality of parallel beams enter pupil planePP of condensing optical system 82, when the incidence angle of theplurality of parallel beams LB incident on condensing optical system 82is adjusted, for example, so that the number of parallel beams LBincident on condensing optical system 82 are not reduced while the widthin the X-axis direction or the Y-axis direction or both of the straightline beam are gradually narrowed, condensing density (energy density) ofthe beam increases. Consequently, in response, by increasing the supplyamount of the powder (shaping material) per unit time and increasing thescan speed of target surface TAS, it becomes possible to keep thethickness of bead BE to be formed constant, and also to keep the levelof throughput high. However, such adjustment method is not limiting, andother adjustment methods can be used to keep the thickness of bead BE tobe formed constant. For example, laser output (energy amount of thelaser beam) of at least one of the plurality of laser units 70 may beadjusted according to the width in the X-axis direction or the Y-axisdirection or both of the straight line beam, or the number of parallelbeams LB incident on condensing optical system 82 from mirror array 80may be changed. In this case, although the throughput slightly decreaseswhen compared to the adjustment method described above, the adjustmentis simple.

FIG. 11 shows a block diagram indicating an input/output relation ofcontroller 600 that mainly structures a control system of shapingapparatus 100. Controller 600 includes a workstation (or amicrocomputer) and the like and has overall control over constituentparts of shaping apparatus 100.

The basic function of shaping apparatus 100 according to the embodimentstructured in the manner described above is to add a desired shape bythree-dimensional shaping to an existing component (workpiece). Theworkpiece is supplied to shaping apparatus 100 and then is carried outfrom shaping apparatus 100 after a desired shape is accurately added. Atthis point, the actual shaping data of the shape that has been added issent to an external device, such as a host device. The series ofoperations performed in shaping apparatus 100 is roughly in the mannerdescribed below.

First, when table 12 is at a predetermined loading/unloading position,workpiece W is loaded on table 12 by workpiece carrier system 300. Atthis time, table 12 is in the reference state (Z, θx, θy, θz)=(Z₀, 0, 0,0) previously described, and the XY position of table 12 coincides withthe X, Y position of slider 10 measured by position measurement system28.

Next, controller 600 moves table 12 on which workpiece W is loaded to anarea below measurement system 400. The movement of table 12 is performedby controller 600 controlling planar motor 26 based on the measurementinformation of position measurement system 28 so that slider 10 isdriven in the X-axis direction (and the Y-axis direction) on base BS.Table 12 maintains the reference state previously described also duringthis movement.

Next, controller 600 performs measurement of position information withina three-dimensional space (shape information in the embodiment) which isat least a part of target surface TAS on workpiece W that is on table 12in a reference state, using measurement system 400. Hereinafter, itbecomes possible to control the position in directions of 6-DOF oftarget surface TAS on workpiece W that is on the table coordinate system(reference coordinate system) according to open loop control, based onthe measurement results.

Next, controller 600 moves table 12, on which workpiece W havingcompleted measurement of shape information of at least a part of targetsurface TAS is mounted, to an area below beam shaping system 500.

Next, additive manufacturing according to three-dimensional shaping isperformed in which the shape corresponding to 3D data is added to theworkpiece on table 12. This additive manufacturing is performed asfollows.

That is, controller 600 converts the three-dimensional CAD data of theshape to be added by additive manufacturing (shape in which the shape ofthe workpiece subject to additive manufacturing is removed from theshape of the object made after additive manufacturing has been applied)serving as three-dimensional shaping data to, e.g. STL (StereoLithography) data, and then furthermore generates data for each layersliced in the Z-axis direction from this three-dimensional STL data.Then, controller 600 controls movement system 200 and beam shapingsystem 500 so that additive manufacturing is performed on each layer ofthe workpiece based on the data of each layer, and repeatedly performsformation of the straight line area and formation of the linear (slitshaped) molten pool by supplying shaping material from nozzle 84 a tothe straight line beam while scanning table 12 in the scan direction,for each layer. Here, position and attitude control of the targetsurface on the workpiece at the time of additive manufacturing isperformed taking into consideration the target surface measured earlier.

Here, in the description above, shaping accompanied with scanningoperation of table 12 is to be performed presupposing that targetsurface (e.g. upper surface) TAS on which target portion TA of additivemanufacturing of workpiece W is set is a plane set to a surfaceperpendicular to the optical axis of condensing optical system 82 byadjusting the tilt of table 12. However, the target surface where thetarget portion of additive manufacturing of the workpiece is set is notalways a plane where the straight line beam can be used. However,shaping apparatus 100 according to the embodiment is equipped withmovement system 200 that can set arbitrarily the position of table 12 onwhich the workpiece is loaded in directions of 6-DOF. Therefore, in sucha case, controller 600, while controlling measurement system 200 andbeam irradiation section 520 of beam shaping system 500 based on thethree-dimensional shape of the workpiece measured using measurementsystem 400 and adjusting the width in the X-axis direction of the beamirradiation area on shaping surface MP so that the target surface (e.g.upper surface) of workpiece W positioned on shaping surface MP can beregarded flat enough so that additive manufacturing can be performed inthe irradiation area of the beam in shaping surface MP, performs theopen/close operation of each supply port 91 i via each open/close member93 i of nozzle 84 a and supplies the shaping material from the requiredsupply ports to the beam irradiated on the irradiation area. This allowsthe shaping to be applied at necessary parts even when the upper surface(target surface) of the workpiece is not flat.

Note that on performing shaping by forming layers of beads, additivemanufacturing (bead formation) may be performed with a beam whose widthin the X-axis direction of the irradiation area in the shaping surfaceis narrow, and after forming a plane having a relatively large area,additive manufacturing (bead formation) may be performed on the planeusing a straight line beam whose width in the X-axis direction of theirradiation area in the shaping surface is widened. For example, onperforming shaping on an uneven target surface, additive manufacturing(bead formation) to fill the recess part may be performed with a beamwhose width in the X-axis direction of the irradiation area in theshaping surface is narrow, and after forming a plane, additivemanufacturing (bead formation) may be performed on the plane using astraight line beam whose width in the X-axis direction of theirradiation area in shaping surface MP is widened. Even in such a case,it goes without saying that the powdered shaping material is suppliedfrom one or the plurality of supply ports that are chosen in response tothe change of size (width) of the irradiation area of the beam inshaping surface MP.

After the additive manufacturing to workpiece W has been completed,controller 600 moves table 12 on which workpiece W that has undergoneadditive manufacturing is loaded to the loading/unloading positionpreviously described.

Next, controller 600 gives instructions to workpiece carrier system 300to unload the workpiece. In response to the instructions, workpiececarrier system 300 takes workpiece W that has undergone additivemanufacturing from table 12 and carries the workpiece outside of shapingapparatus 100. Then, controller 600 sets table 12 of movement system 200to a reference state. In this manner, movement system 200 is to wait atthe loading/unloading position in preparation for delivery of the nextworkpiece.

As is described in detail so far, with shaping apparatus 100 and theshaping method performed by shaping apparatus 100 according to theembodiment, the intensity distribution of the beam within shapingsurface MP previously described can be changed continuously whennecessary not only before starting the shaping of relatively moving thebeam and target surface TAS but also during the relative movement of thebeam and target surface TAS, and can also be changed according to therelative position of target surface TAS and the beam and to the requiredshaping accuracy and throughput. This allows shaping apparatus 100 toform a shaping object on target surface TAS of workpiece W with highprocessing accuracy and high throughput by, e.g. rapid prototyping.

In addition, in shaping apparatus 100 and the shaping method performedby shaping apparatus 100, in the case of performing additivemanufacturing (shaping) of a relatively wide area on a flat targetsurface TAS, the method previously described is employed in whichpowdered shaping material PD is supplied from nozzle 84 a to thestraight line beam to form a linear molten pool WP directly below nozzle84 a and molten pool WP is formed scanning table 12 in the scandirection (+Y direction in FIG. 4). With this method, a shape that wasgenerated by reciprocating the spot shaped beam dozens of times with theconventional 3D printer or the like as shown in FIG. 12B can begenerated by reciprocating table 12 with respect to the straight linebeam several times as shown in FIG. 12A. With the embodiment, theshaping object can be formed on the target surface of the workpiece inan extremely short time when compared to the shaping that uses theconventional spot shaped beam in the so-called one-stroke shaping. Thatis, throughput can be improved also in this respect.

In addition, with shaping apparatus 100 and the shaping method performedby shaping apparatus 100, according to the embodiment, because theintensity distribution change of the beam within the shaping surface ofcondensing optical system 82 is performed by changing the tilt angle ofthe reflection surface of each mirror element of mirror array 80, as theintensity distribution change, change of at least one of position,number, size and shape of the irradiation area of the beam within theshaping surface can be easily performed. Consequently, by setting theirradiation area, for example, to a spot shape or a slit shape (lineshape), and applying the three-dimensional shaping to the target surfaceon the workpiece using the method previously described, athree-dimensional shaped object can be formed with high accuracy.

In addition, shaping apparatus 100 according to the embodiment has aplurality of, e.g. two powder cartridges 88A and 88B, and inside each ofthe powder cartridges 88A and 88B, the powder of the first shapingmaterial (e.g. titanium) and the powder of the second shaping material(e.g. stainless steel) are stored. And, at the time of additivemanufacturing (at the time of shaping), controller 600 performsswitching of the supply path of the powder to nozzle unit 84 usingmaterial supplying device 86, that is, performs switching between piping90 b and 90 c. By this switching, the powder of the first shapingmaterial (e.g. titanium) from powder cartridge 88A and the powder of thesecond shaping material (e.g. stainless steel) from powder cartridge 88Bis selectively supplied to nozzle unit 88A. Consequently, by onlyswitching the powder material that controller 600 supplies depending onthe section, joint shape of different kinds of materials can begenerated easily. In addition, the switching can be performed almostinstantly. Furthermore, by supplying different kinds of materials thatare mixed, an “alloy” can be made on the spot, or the composition may bechanged or gradated depending on location.

Note that in the embodiment above, the case has been described where anirradiation area of a single linear beam (straight line beam) is formedwith beam shaping system 500 and workpiece W is scanned in the scandirection (e.g. Y-axis direction) with respect to the straight linebeam. However, with beam shaping system 500, as is previously described,by making the incidence angle of the plurality of parallel beams LBincident on condensing optical system 82 have an appropriatedistribution, the intensity distribution of the beam in shaping surfaceMP can be changed freely. Consequently, with shaping apparatus 100, atleast one of position, number, size and shape of the irradiation area ofthe beam on shaping surface MP can be changed, and as is previouslydescribed, areas such as, e.g. a straight line area, a three line area,or a broken straight line area (refer to FIG. 10) can be formed as theirradiation area of the beam.

FIG. 13, as an example, shows a situation where additive manufacturingto workpiece W is performed using three straight line beams irradiatedon each of the three straight line areas that structure the three linearea previously described. As shown in FIG. 13, beams LB1 ₁ and LB1 ₂that pass the peripheral end part of condensing optical system 82 andpass the optical path at the front and rear of the scan direction ofworkpiece W (table 12) with respect to nozzle 84 a are condenseddirectly below (the plurality of supply ports of) nozzle 84 a, and aslit shaped (line shape) first straight line area LS1 with alongitudinal direction in the X-axis direction (orthogonal direction ofthe page surface in FIG. 13) is formed on the shaping surface. At thistime, target surface TAS where target portion TA of workpiece W is setis positioned to shaping surface MP. In addition, beams LB2 ₁ and LB2 ₂that pass the peripheral end part of condensing optical system 82 andpass the optical path at the rear of the scan direction with respect tonozzle 84 a are condensed, and at a position a predetermined distanceapart in the rear of the scan direction of the first straight line areaLS1, a second straight line area LS2 is formed extending in the X-axisdirection in the same length as the first straight line area LS1,parallel to the first straight line area LS1. In addition, beams LB3 ₁and LB3 ₂ that pass the peripheral end part of condensing optical system82 and pass the optical path at the front of the scan direction withrespect to nozzle 84 a are condensed, and at a position a predetermineddistance apart in the front of the scan direction of the first straightline area LS1, a third straight line area LS3 is formed extending in theX-axis direction in the same length as the first straight line area LS1,parallel to the first straight line area LS1. FIG. 14 shows a relationbetween the three straight line areas LS1, LS2, and LS3 shown in FIG. 13and the scan direction within the XY plane.

Note that beams LB1 ₁, LB1 ₂, LB2 ₁, LB2 ₂, LB3 ₁, and LB3 ₂ illustratedin FIG. 13 are schematically shown, and the optical path of at least onebeam incident on each straight line area, the number of the beams andthe like can be set or changed, for example, by controlling mirror array80.

Here, as is previously described, of the three straight line areas LS1,LS2, and LS3, by supplying powdered shaping material PD from nozzle 84 ato a straight line beam (hereinafter called a first straight line beamfor the sake of convenience) that forms straight line area LS1positioned in the center in the scan direction of table 12, a linearmolten pool WP is formed directly below the plurality of supply ports ofnozzle 84 a, and such formation of molten pool WP is performed whileworkpiece W (table 12) is scanned in the scan direction (+Y direction inFIG. 13).

A straight line beam (hereinafter called a second straight line beam forthe sake of convenience) that forms straight line area LS2 positioned inthe rear of the scan direction (in the rear of the advancing direction)of table 12 with respect to the first straight line area LS1, as anexample, plays the role of preheating (heating to a moderatetemperature) the surface (target portion of the target surface) ofworkpiece W before shaping is applied. When such preheating is notperformed, a large temperature difference occurs between thehigh-temperature metal melted by the laser beam and the low-temperatureworkpiece (target surface) that causes rapid cooling of the melted metalsolidifying in an instant and making a dry and crumbling lump. This is akey factor that worsens surface accuracy of the processing surface(surface of the shaping section), surface roughness and the like. On theother hand, by heating the surface of workpiece W (target surface) withthe second straight line beam in advance to reduce the temperaturedifference between the melted metal and workpiece W (target surface),the solidifying speed of the melted metal on workpiece W (targetsurface) becomes slower, which allows time to spare for the melted metalto spread due to surface tension acting on the surface (target surface)of workpiece W. As a consequence, excellent surface accuracy and surfaceroughness can be achieved.

A straight line beam (hereinafter called a third straight line beam forthe sake of convenience) that forms straight line area LS3 positioned inthe front of the scan direction (in the front of the advancingdirection) of table 12 with respect to the first straight line area LS1,as an example, provides laser polishing action of the shaping material(metal material) that has adhered and solidified (hardened) on thesurface (target portion of the target surface) of workpiece W, namelythe surface of bead BE. Surface polishing using a laser beam is known asa common technique, and by performing polishing immediately with thethird straight line beam, good surface accuracy and surface roughnessthat normally cannot be acquired by applying additive manufacturing(shaping) once can be achieved.

Especially in the additive manufacturing to workpiece W illustrated inFIG. 13, while workpiece W (table 12) is scanned once in the scandirection, heating of the surface of workpiece Win advance (preheating),formation of the molten pool and bead with respect to the workpiece, andlaser polishing of the surface of the bead that are described above canbe performed. Note that the second straight line beam in the case ofFIG. 13 may be used not only for preheating but for other uses as well.Similarly, the third straight line beam may be used for uses other thanlaser polishing. For example, three nozzles may be providedcorresponding to the arrangement of the first, second, and thirdstraight line areas LS1, LS2, and LS3, and three linear molten poolshaving predetermined widths may be formed simultaneously on the shapingsurface of workpiece W with the first, second, and third straight linebeams.

Note that in the case the scan direction of workpiece W (table 12) isset in the −Y direction opposite to FIG. 13, the third straight linebeam is to play the role of heating the surface of workpiece W to amoderate temperature and the second straight line beam is to play therole of laser polishing the surface of the metal material that hasadhered and temporarily solidified on the surface of workpiece W.

Note that in the description above, while the case has been describedwhere in addition to an irradiation area (a first straight line area) ofthe first straight line beam used for forming the molten pool withrespect to the workpiece, an irradiation area (a second straight linearea) of the second straight line beam used for heating the surface ofworkpiece W in advance (preheating) and an irradiation area (a thirdstraight line area) of the third straight line beam used for laserpolishing the surface of the bead formed are formed separate to oneanother on the shaping surface, for example, the first straight linearea and the second straight line area may have at least an overlappingpart. In addition, at least one of the second straight line area LS2 andthe third straight line area LS3 may be different from the firststraight line area LS1 in at least one of shape and size. In addition,since at least one of the second straight line beam and the thirdstraight line beam does not necessarily have to be used, at least one ofthe second straight line area and the third straight line area does notnecessarily have to be formed on the shaping surface.

In the description so far, the description was made on the premise of ausage increasing as much as possible thickness controllability of themolten pool (coating layer) using the point in which energy density ofthe beam irradiated on the straight line area drastically decreases atthe time of defocus when the straight line area is made as narrow andsharp as possible. However, in this case, the coating layer becomes verythin, and when a layer of the same thickness is to be added, additivemanufacturing (shaping) has to be performed separately on many layers(has to be repeatedly laminated frequently), which is a disadvantagefrom a productivity standpoint.

Consequently, there may be a case when the thickness of the coatinglayer needs to be increased taking into consideration a balance betweenthe required shaping accuracy and throughput. In such a case, controller600 changes the intensity distribution of the beam within the shapingsurface according to the required shaping accuracy and the throughput,or specifically, may control the tilt angle of each mirror element 81_(p,q) of mirror array 30 so that the width of the straight line areawidens slightly. For example, straight line area LS illustrated in FIG.15B changes to straight line area LS′. This slows the energy densitychange at the time of defocus and increases thickness h of the highenergy area in the vertical direction as is shown in FIG. 15A, whichallows the thickness of the layer generated in one scan to be increased,thus improving productivity.

As is described so far, a major feature of shaping apparatus 100according to the embodiment is that the device is more convenient withsolutions that comply with the requirements at the actual processingsite when compared to the conventional metal 3D printer.

Note that in the embodiment above, while the case has been describedwhere mirror array 80 is used as the spatial light modulator, instead ofthis, a digital mirror device consisting of multiple digital micromirrordevices (Digital Micromirror Device: DMD (registered trademark)) madebased on MEMS technology that are disposed in a matrix shape to form alarge area may be used. In such a case, it becomes difficult to measurethe state of each mirror element (e.g. tilt angle) with an encoder orthe like. In such a case, a detection system may be used that irradiatesa detection light on the surface of the large area digital mirrordevice, receives the reflection light from the multiple mirror elementsstructuring the digital mirror device, and detects the state of eachmirror element based on the intensity distribution of the reflectionlight. In this case, the detection system may be a system that detectseach state of the multiple mirror elements based on image informationacquired by imaging an image formed by the digital mirror device with animaging means.

Note that in shaping apparatus 100 according to the embodiment above, adetection system 89 indicated by a virtual line in FIG. 11 may be usedalong with rotary encoder 83 _(p,q). As this detection system 89, adetection system may be used that receives the reflection light from themultiple mirror elements 81 _(p,q) structuring mirror array 80 via abeam splitter placed in between mirror array 80 and condensing opticalsystem 82, and detects the state of each mirror element 81 _(p,q) basedon the intensity distribution of the reflection light. As the detectionsystem, a system having a structure similar to the one disclosed in, forexample, U.S. Pat. No. 8,456,624, can be used.

In addition, in the embodiment above, while the example was given ofusing a variable type mirror array 80 in which the tilt angle of thereflection surface of each mirror element 81 _(p,q) with respect to thereference surface is variable, the embodiment is not limited to this,and a mirror array having a structure in which each mirror element istiltable with respect to the reference surface and also displaceable ina direction orthogonal to the reference surface may be employed. Inaddition, each mirror element does not necessarily have to be tiltablewith respect to the reference surface. The mirror array which isdisplaceable in the direction orthogonal to the reference surface inthis manner is disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,456,624. Otherthan this, a mirror array of a type having mirror elements that are eachrotatable around two axes that are parallel to the reference surface andorthogonal to each other (that is, tilt angle in two directions that areorthogonal are variable) may be employed. The mirror array that canchange the tilt angle in two directions that are orthogonal in themanner above is disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,737,662. Inthese cases as well, the detection system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.8,456,624 can be used to detect the state of each mirror element.

Note that a detection system that irradiates a detection light on thesurface of mirror array 80 and receives the reflection light from themultiple mirror elements 81 _(p,q) structuring mirror array 80 may beused. Or, as the detection system, a sensor that individually detectsthe tilt angle and spacing of each mirror element with respect to thereference surface (base) may be provided at the mirror array (opticaldevice).

Note that in the embodiment above, although the case has been describedwhere the intensity distribution of the beam on the shaping surface ischanged by individually controlling the incidence angle of the pluralityof parallel beams incident on the pupil plane of condensing opticalsystem 82, not all beams of the plurality of parallel beams incident onthe pupil plane of condensing optical system 82 have to be controllable(changeable). Consequently, in the case such as controlling theincidence angle of the parallel beam incident on condensing opticalsystem 82 using the mirror array similar to the embodiment describedabove, the state of the reflection surface (at least one of position andtilt angle) does not have to be variable in all mirror elements. Inaddition, in the embodiment above, although the case has been describedwhere mirror array 80 is used for controlling the incidence angle of theplurality of parallel beams incident on condensing optical system 82,that is, for changing the intensity distribution of the beam on theshaping surface, instead of the mirror array, a spatial light modulator(non-emitting image display device) described below may be used. As atransmission type spatial light modulator, other than a transmissiontype liquid crystal display element (LCD: Liquid crystal display), anelectrochromic display (ECD) and the like can be given as an example. Inaddition, as a reflection type spatial light modulator, other than themicromirror array described above, examples such as a reflection typeliquid crystal display element, an electrophoretic display (EPD: ElectroPhonetic Display), electronic paper (or electronic ink) and adiffraction type light valve (Grating Light Valve) can be given. Inaddition, in the embodiment above, although the case has been describedwhere the mirror array (a kind of spatial light modulator) is used forchanging the intensity distribution of the beam on the shaping surface,the spatial light modulator may be used for other purposes.

In addition, as is described above, although condensing optical system82 preferably has a larger diameter, a condensing optical system with anumerical aperture NA smaller than 0.5 may also be used.

In addition, in the embodiment above, to control the intensitydistribution of the beam, shaping apparatus 100 may be equipped with asensor that can have the light receiving section arranged in or close tothe rear focal plane of condensing optical system 62. For example, it isdesirable that a CCD image sensor is loaded on table 12 and the CCDimage sensor calibrates the intensity distribution (intensitydistribution within the irradiation area in the shaping surface) of thebeam at a proper frequency. In this case, while measurement may beperformed in the state where the light receiving section of the sensor(e.g. table 12) is still, scan measurement in which the light receivingsection of the sensor (e.g. table 12) receives the beam from condensingoptical system 82 while moving may be performed. By performingmeasurement while the light receiving section of the sensor is moving,for example, finite pixel effects of CCDs and mirror arrays can beremoved and correct measurement results can be acquired. As isdescribed, by measuring the intensity distribution of the beam using thesensor that receives the beam from condensing optical system 82, theintensity distribution of the beam can be controlled consideringvariation factors such as thermal aberration of condensing opticalsystem 82. In addition, by controlling mirror array 80 based on theresults, the intensity distribution of the beam in the rear focal planeand the like of condensing optical system 82 can be set with goodprecision to a desired state.

Note that in the embodiment described above, although examples weregiven of the case where titanium and stainless steel powder were used asthe shaping materials, not only iron powder or other metal powder butalso powder other than metal such as powdered nylon, polypropylene, andABS may also be used. In addition, in the case of using material otherthan powder, such as filler wire used in welding as the shapingmaterial, this can be applied to shaping apparatus 100 according to theembodiment described above. However, in this case, instead of the supplysystem for supplying powder such as the powder cartridge and the nozzleunit, a wire feeding device and the like are to be provided.

In addition, in the embodiment above, although the case has beendescribed where powdered shaping material PD is supplied from each ofthe plurality of supply ports 91 ₁ of nozzle 84 along the Z-axisdirection parallel to optical axis AX of condensing optical system 82,the embodiment is not limited to this, and the shaping material (powder)may be supplied from a direction tilted with respect to optical axis AX.Or, the shaping material (powder) may be supplied from a directiontilted with respect to the vertical direction.

Note that in shaping apparatus 100 of the embodiment described above,nozzle 84 a that material processing section 530 is equipped with mayhave a recovery port (suction port) for collecting the powdered shapingmaterial that was not melted, along with the supply port of the shapingmaterial previously described.

While the example was described so far of adding a shape to an existingworkpiece, the usage of shaping apparatus 100 according to theembodiment is not limited to this, and it is possible to generate athree-dimensional shape by shaping on table 12 where nothing existssimilar to an ordinary 3D printer. This case is none other than applyingadditive manufacturing to a workpiece called “nothing”. When shaping thethree-dimensional shaped object on such table 12, by optically detectingalignment marks at a minimum of three places formed in advance on table12 with mark detection system 56 (refer to FIG. 11) that measurementsystem 400 is equipped with, controller 600 only has to acquire positioninformation in directions of 6-DOF of the target surface of the shapingset on table 12 and perform three-dimensional shaping while controllingthe position and attitude of the target surface on table 12 with respectto (the irradiation area of) the beam based on the results.

Note that in the embodiment above, although the case has been describedas an example where controller 600 controls each constituent part;movement system 200, measurement system 400, and beam shaping system500, the embodiment is not limited to this, and the controller of theshaping system may be structured by a plurality of hardware that eachinclude a processing device such as a microprocessor. In this case, themovement system 200, measurement system 400, and beam shaping system 500may each have a processing device, or the controller may be acombination of a first processing device that controls two of movementsystem 200, measurement system 400, and beam shaping system 500 and asecond processing device that controls the remaining one system. In anycase, the processing devices are each in charge of a part of thefunctions of controller 600 described above. Or the controller of theshaping system may be structured by a processing device such as aplurality of microprocessors and a host computer that has overallcontrol over these processing devices.

At least a part of the components in each of the embodiments above canbe appropriately combined with at least other parts of the components ineach of the embodiments above.

A part of the components does not have to be used in the components ineach of the embodiments above. In addition, to the extent permitted bylaw, the disclosures of all publications and the U.S. patents related toexposure apparatuses and the like referred to in each of the embodimentsabove are incorporated herein by reference as a part of the presentspecification.

While the above-described embodiment of the present invention is thepresently preferred embodiment thereof, those skilled in the art oflithography systems will readily recognize that numerous additions,modifications, and substitutions may be made to the above-describedembodiment without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. It isintended that all such modifications, additions, and substitutions fallwithin the scope of the present invention, which is best defined by theclaims appended below.

What is claimed is:
 1. A shaping apparatus that forms athree-dimensional shaped object, the apparatus comprising: a DirectedEnergy Deposition (DED)-type shaping system that has a beam irradiationsection which emits a beam and a material supply section which suppliesshaping material to an area irradiated with the beam by the beamirradiation section; and a controller that controls the shaping system,wherein the controller controls the beam irradiation section toirradiate a first area with a first beam and irradiate a second areawhich is different from the first area with a second beam.
 2. Theshaping apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the beam irradiationsection includes a plurality of movable mirrors, the controller controlsthe beam irradiation section to irradiate the first area with the firstbeam and irradiate the second area which is different from the firstarea with the second beam by moving the plurality of mirrors.
 3. Theshaping apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller performsa shaping by controlling the material supply section to supply theshaping material to the first area which is irradiated with the firstbeam.
 4. The shaping apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the secondarea which is irradiated with the second beam is preheated.
 5. Theshaping apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller controlsthe beam irradiation section to emit the first beam after emitting thesecond beam.
 6. The shaping apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thecontroller controls the beam irradiation section to irradiate the firstarea with the first beam and irradiate the second area with the secondbeam simultaneously.
 7. The shaping apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the controller controls the beam irradiation section toirradiate a third area which is different from the first and secondareas with a third beam.
 8. The shaping apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the controller controls the beam irradiation section toirradiate a third area which is different from the first and secondareas with a third beam, the third area is located on an opposite sideof the second area with the first area in between.
 9. The shapingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller controls the beamirradiation section to irradiate a third area which is different fromthe first and second areas with a third beam, the controller controlsthe beam irradiation section to irradiate a portion to which a shapingis applied by the first beam with the third beam.
 10. The shapingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller controls the beamirradiation section to irradiate a third area which is different fromthe first and second areas with a third beam, a portion to which ashaping is applied is polished by the irradiation of the third beam. 11.The shaping apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: amovement system that is configured to move a target portion which isshaped by the shaping system.
 12. The shaping apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the beam irradiation section further includes acondensing optical system which emits the beam.
 13. The shapingapparatus according to claim 12, wherein the controller is configured tochange intensity distribution of the beam within a predetermined planeon an exit surface side of the condensing optical system.
 14. Theshaping apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the controller controlsthe movement system and the shaping system based on 3D data of athree-dimensional shaped object to be formed so that shaping is appliedto the target portion by supplying the shaping material from thematerial supply section while relative movement of the target portionand the beam from the beam irradiation section is performed.
 15. Ashaping apparatus that forms a three-dimensional shaped object, theapparatus comprising: a Directed Energy Deposition (DED)-type shapingsystem that has a beam irradiation section including an optical systemwhich emits a beam and a material supply section which supplies shapingmaterial to an area irradiated with the beam by the beam irradiationsection; a movement system that is configured to move a target portionwhich is shaped by the shaping system; and a controller that controlsthe shaping system and the movement system, wherein the beam irradiationsection includes a movable reflection member, the controller controlsthe movement system so that the target portion moves in a firstdirection in a predetermined plane, the beam irradiation section isconfigured to irradiate a position which is away from an optical axis ofthe optical system with the beam by moving at least a part of thereflection member.
 16. The shaping apparatus according to claim 15,wherein the reflection member includes a plurality of mirrors.
 17. Theshaping apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the beam irradiationsection is configured to irradiate a first area with a first beam andirradiate a second area which is different from the first area with asecond beam.
 18. The shaping apparatus according to claim 15, whereinthe beam irradiation section is configured to irradiate a position whichis away from the optical axis in a second direction with the beam, thesecond direction is a direction that intersects with the firstdirection.
 19. The shaping apparatus according to claim 18, wherein thebeam irradiation is configured to emit a slit beam that extends in thesecond direction.
 20. The shaping apparatus according to claim 15,wherein the optical system is a condensing optical system, thecontroller is configured to change intensity distribution of the beamwithin a predetermined plane on an exit surface side of the condensingoptical system.
 21. The shaping apparatus according to claim 15, whereinthe controller controls the movement system and the shaping system basedon 3D data of a three-dimensional shaped object to be formed so thatshaping is applied to the target portion by supplying the shapingmaterial from the material supply section while relative movement of thetarget portion and the beam from the beam irradiation section isperformed.
 22. A shaping method of forming a three-dimensional shapedobject by using a Directed Energy Deposition (DED)-type shaping systemthat has a beam irradiation section which emits a beam and a materialsupply section which supplies shaping material to an area irradiatedwith the beam by the beam irradiation section, the method comprising:controlling the beam irradiation section to irradiate a first area witha first beam; and controlling the beam irradiation section to irradiatea second area which is different from the first area with a second beam.23. A shaping method of forming a three-dimensional shaped object byusing a Directed Energy Deposition (DED)-type shaping system that has abeam irradiation section including an optical system which emits a beamand a material supply section which supplies shaping material to an areairradiated with the beam by the beam irradiation section, the methodcomprising: controlling a movement system that is configured to move atarget portion which is shaped by the shaping system so that the targetportion moves in a first direction in a predetermined plane; andcontrolling the beam irradiation section to irradiate a position whichis away from an optical axis of the optical system with the beam bymoving at least a part of a reflection member of the beam irradiationsection.